Homeless should hope to be homeowners

The federal government hopes top-down reforms will allow homeless people to one day become homeowners.

But it argues that tightening negative gearing rules is not a solution to the nation's housing problem.

A new report shows Australia has fewer homeowners, but more renters and homeless people.

The number of homeless people has risen by four per cent since 2012, while the number of households that owned their own home outright slipped from 42 per cent in 1994-95 to 31 per cent in 2011-12.

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison acknowledges it's hard to buy a home these days, but believes the Australian dream isn't dead.

He says it's up to federal, state and local governments to work together and remove cost pressures in the housing market, so people can transition out of homelessness into stable accommodation and one day aspire to home ownership.

Mr Morrison dismissed suggestions that cracking down on negative gearing would help more people buy homes, saying such concessions helped increase the number of rental properties.